I don't like certain aspects of the new design. I will try to say what I dislike about it and what I like about it. I like to try and give constructive criticisms.

1. I don't like the new color pallet being used. I like the red and black for the skin of the old Scar design.I do like the color of the armor expressly if the zones they start in are green zone.

2. The chopped of nose makes them look like the undead from wow. I really dislike the nose. It makes them look like undead zombies.I do like the male v3 face (more demonic part) I don't like how they gain more bulk. The old design made me think of a feral/rabid demonic wolf.

3. I dislike the hair. It make them look like a troll or undead. It seams like some hair you would use for the humans.I think they should have spikes or horns instead of hair.

4. They look undead expressly the female. I do like the female in the colored concept art other then her nose and hair. She still looks undead and that's fine if there undead but from my under standing there not undead.

3. It looks kinda the same as the original artwork. In the original spiky version, they had long black hair flowing down the back.
Not saying it's good or bad, just that it's not really been changed.

From the newsletter: "They’re a race that can vary a little more widely than a human or elf. Their bone and face structure can change so much and can make for some very unique looking NPCs. I can’t wait!"

Perhaps this means that character creation will let you change the nose to something you will like better. :)

Xilshale said: It wasn't a mistake. Kunark was an expansion of discovering a new land, or as an iksar, was supposed to give the feeling of being invaded by an influx of explorers and pillagers. Iksar didn't have to leave Kunark to level because it was their homeland. By your logic erudite were the only non mistake EQ race in classic due to having to leave their continent to level. Every other race could stick with it's own continent to level to cap.

Allow me to clarify what I meant because I do realize what I said and what I intended did not match.

Yes, it did make sense from a lore perspective that Kunark, a whole new continent inhabited by an 'evil' race (from the point of view of the old races) would have a mutual KOS relationship. By a mistake I mean that from Kunark onwards, much of the travel issues with racial factions at release become irrelevant. While the Iksar had no reason, really, to venture to the old world all the other races had to venture to Kunark but Cabilis wasn't in the path of travel to anywhere. Unlike Freeport and the Dwarven guards in Butcherblock being the gateways between Antonica and Faydwer, and Qeynos/Erudin the gateways between Antonica and Erudin, there was no need to get anywhere near Cabilis for any race. Yes, even in the old world you could use wizard/druid teleports to bypass cities but in some cases even those were not necessarily safe. The good races had their outpost and the evil races theirs..and neither were required to get close to the other.

Travel in Velious initially was equal for everyone. Coldain were dubious while Giants/Dragons hated everyone. It wasn't until you started faction manipulation that travel was affected by faction. Planes of Power completely removed any travel issues with faction with all the portals to PoK being away from any city.

So when I talk about the mistake made, it was that very quickly in the game, race to race factions became irrelevant. And yes, I believe that some factions should remain unchangeable and the ramifications of that should always have some meaningful impact.

Overall, I like the redesign. I definitely understand why some people think they are not as original and are too similar to other races in other games. The new Skar are more humanoid, but that also makes them more believable. I think the previous version was a little over the top. They could have met somewhere in the middle. But MMOs have technical limitations, so I'm glad they were able to figure something out that both fit the flavor and was feasible to make. I look forward to seeing them actually in-game since what we've seen so far is still only concept art. I hope their default stance is actually as crouched as it looks. If their animations are more primal, that would help differentiate them from other humanoids.

I loved the original concept (it's what drew me to Pantheon), and just saw the new one. At first glance I thought, "ehh.. What's this mess?", but after looking deeper and letting go of expectations, they've really grown on me. The balance of the spikey, demonic, and skeletal features shows they put effort. Even the muscley sinew protrusions are freaking awsome. These details tell a story of a people forever "Skarred" for their transgressions. Armor and weapons that look like raw material from the monsters you slaughter is just icing on the cake (Alluding in small part to Monster Hunter). I don't see them as gobin-like or iksar, that squat stance is just an action pose for artwork, their going to stand fairly upright obviously. I'm happy to create a few, and V6 of the concept faces will most likely be the exact features I choose. Now we just need quests based on the lore of being a truly evil race as well!

Great job VR, Justin and Forrest! I look forward to seeing the character models in-game.

Skar are a PANTHEON race. They fit in well with the lore, and I mean... Come on... Every game needs an evil race.

I just hope that of the evil races, the Skar are the worst of the worst. Just once I'd love to see a race that is KOS to everyone everywhere. Even the other 'evil' races look at the Skar and say 'We're evil, yes, but those Skar? Always taking it too far."

You already had that in EQ with the Iksar . KOS everywhere . I wonder if it is a coincidence that Skar(i) is anagram of Iksar :)

Besides the Iksar started their carrier also like slaves and their description in EQ is

"The Iksar are bipedal reptiles, generally as tall as a fully grown human. The males are recognized by their large tails, and many spiked protrusions upon their heads and bodies. Females are generally smaller, with thinner tails, more slender bodies than their male counterparts, with three rounded horns on their heads, swept back, sometimes connected together with a thin layer of skin."

So no, I would not say that the Skar are specifically "Pantheon" . They were obviously a relatively close copy of the EQ Iksar including the tail and the new version basically removed the tail (will it come back ?) and did slight graphical modifications (e.g more goblin like than lizard like) .

Personally I enjoyed Iksar being "ultra-evil". Plus nothing felt quite as good as walking into a town where you were "tolerated" (versus KOS) just to see other players reactions! I hope that the Skar are the Pantheon version, in terms of being the worst of the worst.

They were transformed from a race with presumably better looks that included hair. It does seem odd that the hair sits on top of the head I agree! Using this pic of the face and skull to show what is under the hair.... based on this picture I would bet there is an option to have your Skar without hair.

"As a sign to all who would encounter the banished race, the bones in their face and skull would be pushed through the skin, marked as heinously as the death they sowed across the realms."

yeah that picture is great, I think they look more unique without hair they look more evil more menacing. I'm not going to play a Skar (Dwarves for life) but I can't wait to see them running around in game.

As much as I like the Skar (both original and re-designed), I just can't see these as a 'new idea' but just a blending of the NPCs from the EQ1 Gates of Discord expanion and the Star Wars EU Yuuzhan Vong. I'll still play one though.

Think I like V3 the best. The other two lack a nose, which makes them look more like undead to me. I could probably get on board with the central (along the top) skull spines coming all the way down a short snout, of sorts, giving them a slightly more animalistic look.

Think I like V3 the best. The other two lack a nose, which makes them look more like undead to me. I could probably get on board with the central (along the top) skull spines coming all the way down a short snout, of sorts, giving them a slightly more animalistic look.

I too prefer the V3 though I would ditch the two large upward-facing incisors. The exposed teeth/jaw of V1 just isn't very realistic (yes, I know this is a fantasy game) with it missing cheeks/lips, etc. Too skeletal. The missing nose of V2 is just disconcerting. Imagine the isuses you would have if you caught a cold as a Skar.